The Search for Spatial Regularities in the Development of Australian Seaports 1861–1961/2

Abstract

Geographical studies of seaports have been concerned in the past with such varied topics as physical layout, the origin and destination of cargo and character of shipping handled (see, for example, Weigend, 1956; Boxer, 1961; Bird, 1963). With their emphasis on the uniqueness of individual ports or the peculiar features of groups of centres, these studies have paid little attention to the problem of providing a model against which the various aspects of port geography can be measured. The first notable departure from the traditional method of studying seaports was made by Bird who evolved the concept of ‘Anyport’ for comparing developments in the layout of major British ports since their inception (Bird, 1963). Then Taaffe, Morrill and Gould in their study of the expansion of transport networks in underdeveloped countries highlighted first, the evolution of the spatial patterns of port locations with the improvement in internal accessibility and secondly, the accompanying process of dominance ranking and the emergence of a port hierarchy (Taaffe et al., 1963). However, in their emphasis on the development of landward connections Taaffe et al. neglected changes in the organisation of maritime space, which is as essential to the development of a port as land transport.